Roseanne was at my bedside and I said ‘Sorry it has come to this’. How could I even think about losing my wife and daughter?

Brett Seymour

The former Hull FC ace was so ­tortured by on-pitch blunders he ­guzzled booze and sleeping pills after losing a match, then planned to drive off the Humber Bridge.

Police told Brett blood tests show he had swallowed enough temazepam to kill him – and only his ­supreme ­fitness saved his life.

Speaking publicly for the first time since he was pulled from the wreckage of his car seven weeks ago, Brett, 28, said: “There must be an angel looking out for me.”

Aussie Brett became one of Super League’s highest-paid players two years ago when Hull FC signed him on a £130,000-a-year contract.

Initially he relished living in the UK with TV ­presenter wife Roseanne, 31, especially when daughter ­Monroe, now aged one, was born.

But niggling injuries dogged him and he began to doubt his ability.

“I was getting more and more concerned,” said Brett. “Hull FC fans are great when things are going well but they can get on your back when they aren’t. Normally if you have a bad game you bounce back the next week but I stopped bouncing.

“In training I cut myself off from the other guys. A couple of them asked if I was all right.

“Every time I made a mistake I couldn’t brush it off and move on. I could feel the worry building up in my head.”

A 36-16 defeat away at Widnes on March 2 was a crushing blow to the halfback, who made several ­errors ­during the match.

“On the bus back I sat on my own ­looking out of the ­window, staring into no-man’s land,” said Brett. The next day, he became ­increasingly ­concerned about his poor performance.

“Mentally it was torture,” he said. “I lost all sense of self worth. I’m a bloody good rugby player but I had lost my spark. And if I’m not a top player, what am I?”

Brett, who gave up booze after being sacked by two previous clubs for alcohol-related incidents, then turned to the ­bottle.

“It was a blur. I felt numb. I started to ask myself whether, if I died, it would matter to anyone. That seems so scary now. Looking back on it that’s awful.”

Full of red wine, Brett also swallowed a fistful of pills.

“Then I got into the car, I just wanted to get out of the house to try to escape what was going on in my head,” he said.

“At first I didn’t know where to go and then I was driving towards the Humber Bridge. The last thought I had was to get as far away as I could from home by ­killing myself.

“I’d lost all common sense, I was in my own world, numb from the booze. The next thing I knew was when I woke up in hospital.”

As his BMW tore through the streets, the booze and pills kicked in and he crashed before reaching the bridge. His car ended up on its roof and he was dragged from the wreckage by a ­passer-by.

“I was unconscious until the next day,” said Brett. “My first words to Roseanne when I woke up after the crash were to ask if I’d hurt anyone.

“I didn’t care if I’d broken both my legs, I just wanted to know if some innocent person had been hurt because of my ­stupidity. I couldn’t have lived with that.

“Roseanne was at my bedside and I said ‘Sorry it has come to this’. How could I even think about losing my wife and daughter?”

Brett sought help, checking in to the Sporting Chance clinic for 26 days.

The Hampshire-based charity was set up by ex-Arsenal footie star Tony Adams, 46, to help athletes with addiction and mental health problems.

Brett said: “It was scary walking into that place but it has made me a different person. They made me re-think my life. I got stuff into perspective. I was lucky to end up in rehab and not six feet under.”

He is now back home in Hull with ­Roseanne, who we recently revealed had a cancer operation while her husband was at the clinic.

Police have charged Brett with drink driving, failing to stop after a road traffic collision and failure to report the crash.

The Aussie praised Hull fans for their ­support after the incident – but the club has since released him and now he just wants to play again.

“I’m craving being back with a bunch of team-mates,” he said.

“If any coach could look me in the eyes they would see I’m better and ready to play.”